Functionalized chelants, or bifunctional coordinators, are known to be capable of being covalently attached to an antibody having specificity for cancer or tumor cell epitopes or antigens. Radionuclide complexes of such antibody/chelant conjugates are useful in diagnostic and/or therapeutic applications as a means of conveying the radionuclide to a cancer or tumor cell. See, for example, Meares et al., Anal. Biochem. 142, 68-78, (1984); and Krejcarek et al., Biochem. and Biophys. Res. Comm. 77, 581-585 (1977).
Aminocarboxylic acid chelating agents have been known and studied for many years. Typical of the aminocarboxylic acids are nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexanetetraacetic acid (CDTA) and 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecanetetraacetic acid (DOTA). Numerous bifunctional chelating agents based on aminocarboxylic acids have been proposed and prepared. For example the cyclic dianhydride of DTPA [Hnatowich et al. Science 220, 613-615, (1983); U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,930] and mixed carboxycarbonic anhydrides of DTPA [Gansow, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,454,106 and 4,472,509; Krejcarek et al., Biochem. and Biophys. Res. Comm. 77, 581-585, (1977)] have been reported. When the anhydrides are coupled to proteins the coupling proceeds via formation of an amide bond thus leaving four of the original five carboxymethyl groups on the diethylenetriamine (DETA) backbone [Hnatowich et al. Int. J. Appl. Isot. 33, 327-332, (1982)]. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,432,907 and 4,352,751 disclose bifunctional chelating agents useful for binding metal ions to "organic species such as organic target molecules or antibodies." As in the above, coupling is obtained via an amide group through the utilization of diaminotetraacetic acid dianhydrides. Examples of anhydrides include dianhydrides of EDTA, CDTA, propylenediaminetetraacetic acid and phenylene 1,2-diaminetetraacetic acid. A recent U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,447 discloses several complex salts formed from the anion of a complexing acid for use in various diagnostic techniques. Conjugation via a carboxyl group of the complexing acid is taught which gives a linkage through an amide bond.
In the J. of Radioanalytical Chemistry 57(12), 553-564 (1980), Paik et al. disclose the use of p-nitrobenzylbromide in a reaction with a "blocked" diethylenetriamine, i.e. bis-(2-phthalimidoethyl)amine followed by deblocking procedures and carboxymethylation using chloroacetic acid, to give N'-p-nitrobenzyldiethylenetriamine N,N,N",N"-tetraacetic acid. Again, since the attachment is through a nitrogen, a tetraacetic acid derivative is obtained. Conjugation of the bifunctional chelating agent and chelation with indium is discussed. Substitution on the nitrogen atom is also taught by Eckelman, et al. in the J. of Pharm. Sci. 64(4), 704-706 (1975) by reacting amines such as "ethylenediamine or diethylenetriamine with the appropriate alkyl bromide before carboxymethylation." The compounds are proposed as potential radiopharmaceutical imaging agents.
Another class of bifunctional chelating agents based on aminocarboxylic acid functionality is also well documented in the literature. Thus, Sundberg, Meares, et al. in the J. of Med. Chem. 17(12), 1304 (1974), disclosed bifunctional analogs of EDTA. Representative of these compounds are 1-(p-aminophenyl)-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and 1-(p-benzene-diazonium)-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Coupling to proteins through the para-substituent and the binding of radioactive metal ions to the chelating group is discussed. The compounds are also disclosed in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 75(1), 149 (1977), and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,994,966 and 4,043,998. It is important to note that the attachment of the aromatic group to the EDTA structure is through a carbon of the ethylenediamine backbone. Optically active bifunctional chelating agents based on EDTA, HEDTA and DTPA are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,420. In these compounds an alkylene group links the aromatic group (which contains the functionality needed for attachment to the protein) to the carbon of the polyamine which contains the chelating functionality. Other references to such compounds include Brechbiel et al., Inorg. Chem. 25, 2772-2781 (1986), U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,447 and International Patent Publication No. WO 86/06384.
More recently, certain macrocyclic bifunctional chelating agents and the use of their copper chelate conjugates for diagnostic or therapeutic applications have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,667 and by Moi et al., Inorg. Chem. 26, 3458-3463 (1987). Attachment of the aminocarboxylic acid functionality to the rest of the bifunctional chelating molecule is through a ring carbon of the cyclic polyamine backbone. Thus, a linker, attached at one end to a ring carbon of the cyclic polyamine, is also attached at its other end to a functional group capable of reacting with the protein.
Another class of bifunctional chelating agents, also worthy of note, consists of compounds wherein the chelating moiety, i.e. the aminocarboxylic acid, of the molecule is attached through a nitrogen to the functional group of the molecule containing the moiety capable of reacting with the protein. As an example, Mikola et al. in patent application (International Publication Number WO 84/03698, published Sep. 27, 1984) disclose a bifunctional chelating agent prepared by reacting p-nitrobenzylbromide with DETA followed by reaction with bromoacetic acid to make the aminocarboxylic acid. The nitro group is reduced to the corresponding amine group and is then converted to the isothiocyanate group by reaction with thiophosgene. These compounds are bifunctional chelating agents capable of chelating lanthanides which can be conjugated to bioorganic molecules for use as diagnostic agents. Since attachment of the linker portion of the molecule is through one of the nitrogens of the aminocarboxylic acid, then one potential aminocarboxyl group is lost for chelation. Thus, a DETA-based bifunctional chelant containing four (not five) acid groups is prepared. In this respect, this class of bifunctional chelant is similar to those where attachment to the protein is through an amide group with subsequent loss of a carboxyl chelating group.
Recently Carney, Rogers, and Johnson disclosed (3rd. International Conference on Monoclonal Antibodies For Cancer; San Diego, Calif.--Feb. 4-6, 1988) abstracts entitled "Absence of Intrinsically Higher Tissue Uptake from Indium-111 Labeled Antibodies: Co-administration of Indium-111 and Iodine-125 Labeled B72.3 in a Nude Mouse Model" and "Influence of Chelator Denticity on the Biodistribution of Indium-111 Labeled B72.3 Immunoconjugates in Nude Mice". The biodistribution of indium-111 complexed with an EDTA and DTPA bifunctional chelating agent is disclosed. Attachment of the aromatic ring to the EDTA/DTPA moieties is through an acetate methylene. Also at a recent meeting D. K. Johnson et al. [Florida Conf. on Chem. in Biotechnology, Apr. 26-29 (1988), Palm Coast, Fla.] disclosed bifunctional derivatives of EDTA and DTPA where a p-isothiocyanatobenzyl moiety is attached at the methylene carbon of one of the carboxymethyl groups. Previously Hunt et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,088,747 and 4,091,088 (1978) disclosed ethylenediaminediacetic acid (EDDA) based chelating agents wherein attachment of an aromatic ring to the EDDA moiety is through the alkylene or acetate methylene. The compounds are taught to be useful as chelates for studying hepatobiliary function. The preferred metal is technetium-99m. Indium-111 and indium-113m are also taught as useful radionuclides for imaging.
Consequently, it would be advantageous to provide a complex that does not readily dissociate, that exhibits rapid whole body clearance except from the desired tissue, and conjugates with an antibody to produce the desired results.